34 weeks

I'm 34 weeks today...which means we've got six weeks to go! (Do you like my delusion that I'll give birth to this baby on her due date, despite the fact that only 5% of babies are born on their actual due date? Yeah, me too.)

I've gotten a couple of comments on how big I look, so I trolled back through the photo archives to do a side-by-side comparison with my previous pregnancies. Of course, there is nothing from A's pregnancy, but I did find one with E.

Honestly, I feel like I'm slightly smaller than I was with E. And carrying a little lower. Which makes me feel marginally better. And I think we can all agree that my hair should never be cut in the 2004 style again.

We've made progress on getting ready for baby. Her room is coming together. I purchased an Ergo Baby Carrier from BabySteals yesterday for a bargain. And, this weekend, I'm headed to Babys-R-Us this weekend to trade in our old infant seat (which expired) and getting a new one.

It kind of cracks me up, because even though my kids aren't *that* old, but it seems like so much has changed! The car seat expired! The bottles are poison (BPA)! The crib is a death trap! I swear, it makes my head spin how different things are in just a few years!

kicking some you-know-what

We had one of those weekends where we kicked some @$$ and took some names, if you know what I mean.

First of all, it was the end of the 2nd quarter for E's school. She got an award this quarter, for Computation Queen. Although she won that award a couple of times last year, earlier this year she won the Top Wildcat Writer. So, with the mad writing AND math skills, I guess she's a Renaissance woman of sorts.


She also got her report card. Again, she did great! She even made some improvements in a couple of areas (including Listening...though you could've fooled me). But, the best part about it was the note from the teacher. It was quite possibly the best teacher's note ever.

E is progressing well academically this quarter. Way to go! E is energetic and loves participating in class. I could easily picture her as a movie star one day. For example, a while back, E was pulled out of the room for testing. When she came back, she opened the door and raised her hands to the air and said "I'm back!" She definitely has a big personality. Also, I wanted to share that E is very "word smart" and "math smart"!

John and I were cracking up at the image of E walking into the room like that. Totally her.

Secondly, the girls made their Valentines. After last year's Valentine's Day FAIL, I knew we needed to step it up a bit. So, we filled goodie bags and added a little tag to each. A gave her friends a bouncy ball and Hershey's kisses, with a tag that said "I have a ball with you!". E gave her friends a pencil and eraser with "You've got the 'write' stuff!" They turned out adorable, if I do say so myself!


Finally, this weekend, we made big progress on SlackerBaby's room (and the rest of the house)! On Saturday (after an exciting, barn-burner of a basketball game where E's team beat a previously undefeated team 22-20), we headed to IKEA. We got a new dresser and bookcase for A's room, so we could move the dresser/changing table and bookcase into the baby's room. (We also got some other furniture for the basement and living room. Part of me hates it that I'm in my mid-thirties and still shop at IKEA. And, yet, it's reasonbly priced, looks good, and if my kids take a Sharpie to it and ruin it, no bigs. IKEA, I just can't quit you!)

On Sunday, we got the furniture delivered and assembled it all, and moved the furniture into place in the baby's room. We also lined up the painters to come and do the girls' rooms this week. Then, we had a fantastic Valentine's Day dinner and dessert. Before we knew it, it was time for bed! And man, did we need it.

Being productive is hard work, yo!

it's (still) a girl

There are a couple of exciting baby updates round these parts!

• We put together the crib! Of course, we still need to get a new crib mattress and the crib currently holds bags of baby stuff that I've acquired this pregnancy...but still! A crib!
  
• My friend, Kelly, took some pictures of our family for an online photographer course she was taking. The theme was waiting...and we certainly fit the bill. Check out the photos here at her web site.
  
• I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. They performed an ultrasound to check the baby's size, and I made her confirm that she is, in fact, still a she. She is! And, a big one at that! She's measuring a week ahead, which isn't a concern. But the doctor did mention that having a 10-pounder isn't out of the realm of possibility.
  

Well, I'm off to E's second quarter Awards Ceremony. I'm not sure what she's getting, but she's 2 for 2 this year. Woo hoo!

now posting on a bi-weekly basis

Apparently, I can only muster up the energy to post every other week these days...just so you guys will lie through your teeth tell me how great I look in my belly shots. Truth of the matter is that I'm just so freaking tired of late. I swear, I feel like I've shot way past Advanced Maternal Age and am Advanced Geriatric Age at this point.

All in all, we're hanging in there. We had some snow storms in the last few weeks, which enabled me to enjoy The Commute from Hell. My normally 45 minute to an hour commute? Took me 6 hours. Awesome. E lost her third tooth on the bottom, but I'm convinced that she will be in braces before the year is out because the two adult teeth that are growing in the space where these 3 baby teeth were? Occupy about 90% of it. But, seeing as John had braces, and I single handedly funded at least one of my othodontist's Mercedes back in the day, I'm really not suprised.

Anyway, here is the growth progression of the belly. In a nutshell, I'm huge. I'm pretty sure I waddle now. Small objects, such as crumbs, cannot escape it's gravitational pull. And, for the first time ever, the OB told me I was measuring ahead. Which is a little off-putting, since I measured normal for both E and A...and they were 8 lb 12 oz and 9 lb 6 oz. If this one breaks the 10 lb mark, I'm going to be pissed.

 

 

On the bright side, I go on Tuesday for an ultrasound to determine size. I'm also hoping for one more confirmation of gender before we select paint colors and buy crib sheets. Because, yeah, we have 8 weeks to go and still haven't done anything! Ack!